The Tourists are Arriving in Masses

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This afternoon, as my daughter and I were leaving Disney World, memories of Hurricane Andrew flashed before my eyes. Was it because of an impending landfall of a Cat-5 hurricane, or due to the destruction of the landscape around me? No, it was due to the backlog of traffic on the highway. Heading north back to Gainesville, I could not help but notice that the southbound traffic on both the interstate and the turnpike were reminiscent of a mass evacuation. Only, in this case, it was incoming traffic to the state of Florida. Bumper to bumper traffic at a dead standstill or very slow crawl were visible out of my driver's side window the entire 2-hour trip back to Gainesville, and who knows for how many miles further to the north the traffic was backed up. Interestingly, we did not see a single accident, single emergency vehicle, or single police officer on the side of the highways the entire drive home, meaning there wasn't any kind of impedance keeping the southbound traffic backed up. No, it was simply all the snowbirds starting to head south for the winter. Tens of thousands of tourists from the north heading to Florida for warmer weather, sunshine, and tropical beaches! For over 120 miles (193 km), I could see license plates from dozens of different states in my rear-view mirror as I headed home. Thank goodness I was heading north, and not south, or my patience would have been pushed over the limit! Ahhh...the tourist season is upon us, and the great state of Florida will now be absolute gridlock for about the next 5-6 months as the snowbirds take over our state. Welcome tourists! We've been waiting for your money....er, I mean YOU, to arrive!